How do you partner with the various marketing teams to ensure a successful product launch?

PMM is hard (and awesome) because we are a hub, not a spoke that often controls the final outputs. We’re not growth marketers, or demand gen manager, or brand marketers. However we do influence, inform, manifest, and/or articulate growth strategies and campaigns. Product marketing needs other growth teams to commit and execute. Same goes for traditional demand gen and campaigns – we have a bit more influence there and ability to define demand programs and contribute content, but still heavy reliance on others for execution (campaigns team, ops, etc.). We don’t own channels or many of the teams required for execution.

Our role and responsibility are to develop (and coalesce) a GTM (and specifically marketing) plan to propose to cross-functional teams, surface the requirements/dependencies/roles, and coordinate and monitor the cross-functional workstreams. That GTM marketing strategy– along with positioning/messaging, enablement, launches, and research input into product strategy – are our core roles and responsibilities. Product Marketing can bring together all the growth/demand investments into a single view (ex. a Campaign Brief), come to the table with recommendations, and aide in the orchestration of various teams efforts (expose leverage points or conflicts). We can create messaging and content that supports the campaign. But we can not also be the sole execution side (not our expertise, not our area of ownership – literally don't own the distribution channels). This is part of what makes Product Marketing so hard.  We’d love to work with Growth to help them refine their programs and tactics, and contribute to areas like messaging (ex. copy for an in-app test, or keywords and copy for SEO/SEM programs).

Different teams might own different channels. I tend to think that I know enough that I could probably write a good email or create a good social strategy for a launch, but im not an expert in those areas--and we have people in parallel marketing teams who are experts there. So for my launches, we have weekly XFN GTM syncs where those stakeholders are included and we walk through where we are for launch and look for status updates on key deliverables like emails, data sheets, help center articles, etc. My goal out of these meetings is to ensure that my marketing stakeholders have enough to do their job well, so as as the expert of a channel, they can deliver on their goal of driving a great asset and I can deliver on my goal of ensuring the launch goes as planned.

My biggest piece of advice here is to loop as many folks in as possible, as early as possible, and to keep a close tracker on when/who was involved in those conversations.

A product launch requires many parts of the marketing team to deliver a great moment at the time of launch, and to maximize impact post-launch. Some key functions to consider + timing:

• Comms/PR: These teams will need time to partner with you on launch comms assets, such as an announcement blog or press release, and also to potentially engage key influencers or press that may want to cover the story. Ideally you should give them an FYI as soon as you have a launch date in mind so they can give input into potential date changes that may benefit your launch (e.g. timed with an industry/owned event, avoid timing of a competitor event, etc.) Internal comms can also make sure you give this the right level of love internally at your company.

• Demand gen: these teams are planning campaigns and programs months in advance, so the more warning you can give them as to a new element for a campaign or a potential change in strategy, the better.

• Lifecycle/growth marketing: these programs may have more flexibility to add new elements on a tighter timeline, but don't leave them out of your early thinking.

• Partner marketing: Partners can be a key amplifier of your launch strategy, so be sure to connect with your partner and partner marketing teams as soon as you align on a launch date to ensure partners are briefed, enabled and ready to support your announcement.

• Social + Community: Can be great amplifiers of your message! They may not need as much lead time, but are a great channel to activate and build excitement. I'd also consider leveraging these partners for creative ways to build buzz about your launch: can we think of a contest or creative activation within one of these channels to build buzz, leading up to or as a part of the launch activities?

• Analyst Relations: Don't forget about the analysts! A great AR program ensures that you have a pre-brief and/or update strategy in place for product updates and launches, but I also wouldn't be shy about engaging your analysts early and often throughout the product development lifecycle. They can have strong input into what you're building, and also how you frame it. (Not to mention, strengthens your and your company's relationship with them, which is very valuable heading into evaluation time!)

The best approach when pulling together a cross-functional team for a product launch, either cross-marketing, cross-company, or both, is to have a solid launch plan with defined deliverables and assignees for each task. Big launches that need cross-team coordination benefit from having a project manager and/or project management tools like Asana, Monday, etc. Of course spreadsheets work too!

It's always best to identify the deliverables and tasks ahead of time and get alignment on which team owns what. Corporate marketing appreciates being brought in on messaging and positioning, especially if it is a big product launch that might affect the brand messaging too. The campaign and digital teams are your key partners for multi-channel marketing. The content marketing folks are usually some of product marketing's best friends! And don't forget your partners in crime: customer marketing! Often times they are your keys to a successful launch, especially for those silver or middle level features.

Building those relationships across marketing early will ensure successful launches. And make sure you give as much as you ask for. Take the time to explain things and ask for feedback and questions. You'll be happy you did! (and actually that applies for working with most teams, not just marketing!)

When working with the broader marketing team, I establish alignment early and check in frequently. Collaboration begins during planning cycles, where we align on goals, finalize marketing themes, identify key market moments, and share details about priority launches. When managing a specific launch, I follow a framework that emphasizes early alignment and buy-in, fosters effective collaboration, and sets clear goals while measuring progress. What I appreciate about the framework below is its flexibility, allowing adaptation based on the launch's scope, team size, and available resources.

• Create a Launch Brief: I write a launch brief covering topics such as goals, target audience, key messaging, benefit and value statements, and use cases. This document serves as the foundational blueprint for all teams involved.

• Kickoff Meeting: I organize a kickoff meeting to bring stakeholders together to discuss the launch. Depending on the launch and team size, this could involve just a few people or several. This meeting is a platform to review the briefs in detail, clarify any details, and ensure everyone is on the same page.

• Collaborate on Marketing Strategy: I work closely with marketing teams to identify the most effective channels to reach our intended audience. I partner closely with them to develop a plan that includes chosen channels, content plans, metric dashboards, projected timelines, responsibilities, and any necessary approvals (I am a proponent of using a RACI matrix).

• Regular Launch Status Check-ins: I conduct regular status check-ins to monitor the launch's progress. Initially, these meetings might be monthly or bi-weekly, but as the launch date approaches, we increase the frequency. These check-ins are crucial for staying updated on each workstream’s status, addressing challenges promptly, and keeping the launch on track.

• Measure Success and Adapt Strategies: Throughout the launch process, I closely monitor the effectiveness of different strategies and channels. This enables the launch team to adapt and optimize ongoing strategies based on performance data.

Although this framework has consistently led to successful launches, it is crucial to recognize that each launch—and company—is unique. Allow for flexibility within the framework to accommodate different types of launches, scales, and resource availability.

Marketing enablement is the first step i.e. bringing everyone onboard what is getting build, why, value delivered to the target audience and revenue impact. The artifacts for this step are: A strategic brief and an enablement session with a live demo/recorded video of the product in action. From here, the a live or async discussion with marketing/channel leads on how each one is thinking about activation for their channel.

• Understand that everything they plan is based on their cross-company relationships and develop your own cross-disciplinary relationships - not just with Marketing. 
• Develop long-term relationships and maintain regular and continuous communications with all stakeholders. 
• Do the same with senior leadership across the organization. 
• Know the team leads; know their challenges; know their plans and programs. 
• Remember that they have more than just product launch on their plates - make sure you're there to help them with their other projects so far as you can. 
• Communicate early and frequently for every planned launch.